For World Cup dreamers, reality dawns

BY the time you read this I will have landed in Auckland after a stifling 36-hour trek with stopovers in London, Bangkok and Sydney.

A cruel sense of timing meant I boarded my Aer Lingus flight from Cork just as the referee was about to start Sunday’s All Ireland hurling final. By the time I disembark in Auckland airport, the Kilkenny players had enjoyed two good nights of celebration. The world is getting smaller but you still get the feeling that New Zealand is at the bottom of the universe. Let’s hope the next few weeks are worth everyone’s effort.

With the opening ceremony and the first contest of the 2011 World Cup featuring New Zealand and Tonga just two days away, the reality of the situation has just about started to dawn on the players and management of the competing 20 squads sprinkled around the north and south islands. For those sides not involved in that opening game, sitting back and watching the colour and pageantry of the occasion, the stark realisation dawns that everything they have worked towards over the last few years is about to be put to the test. The future is now.